Boundless Horizons: Marie Clay’s search for the possible in children’s literacy

Boundless Horizons tells the extraordinary story of Marie Clay’s lifelong search for new possibilities in teaching young children to read and write. ‘What is possible for children with reading problems? What would have to change?’ Observing young readers in ordinary classrooms she uncovered explanations of how children take on literacy learning and how that learning changes over time. From those discoveries arose the internationally successful literacy intervention for children having temporary difficulty — Reading Recovery. This book is written for all professionals who are seeking better possibilities for children struggling to read and write. A major theme is the enduring commitment to the child becoming an independent reader and writer, but Marie Clay also extended her inquiries to teachers. She demonstrated ways in which research, theory, and practice can interact. And because her research was rooted in the real world, teachers and teacher educators will find in it new possibilities to widen the horizons of their work. Readers of Boundless Horizons will gain an understanding of the concepts and principles underlying Reading Recovery, and an insight into why this originally small, local project has taken wing to far places, in undreamed-of_x000B_ways. Marie Clay has left a challenging_x000B_legacy: to continue that search for_x000B_possibilities, keeping to her strict_x000B_standards of research, practice, and _x000B_international dissemination. Her work_x000B_will guide dedicated professionals who_x000B_will continue to be surprised and_x000B_delighted by what is possible, as the _x000B_horizons ever extend.